Tottenham manager Andre Villas-Boas hopes he will not be without Mousa Dembele for too long after revealing the midfielder has suffered a recurrence of the niggling hip injury which sidelined him for Fulham last season.

Tottenham Hotspur had still not finalised a deal with Queen's Park Rangers for the defender Michael Dawson last night in the hope that Sunderland and Stoke City could yet drive up the price for a player who has attracted a great deal of interest in the transfer window.

Tottenham Hotspur had still not finalised a deal with Queen's Park Rangers for the defender Michael Dawson last night in the hope that Sunderland and Stoke City could yet drive up the price for a player who has attracted a great deal of interest in the transfer window.

Andre Villas-Boas might have thought he had met some of the most stubborn figures in English football when he was manager of Chelsea last season, but he was yet to live through a summer transfer window conducted by Daniel Levy.

The clear-out of Tottenham players who have fallen out of favour under the new Andre Villas-Boas regime is expected to begin with Michael Dawson, for whom Queen's Park Rangers have offered in the region of £8m to sign this month.